Cassandra Cain Costume History
Cassandra Cain Costume History The following is a history of Cassandra Cain’s various costumes throughout her comic book career, including artist renditions and notable appearances. This essay is inspired by Stephanie Brown’s Costume History by Nevermore999, and the Brief History of the Wondy Suit by Carol Strickland. Please note that this is based on personal observation and opinions and does not reflect the intention of the original creators or DC comics as a whole. For a detailing of the Batgirl suits, go to Batgirl Uniform. Vigilante Costume (Detective Comics #734) This costume was what Cassandra wore while facing Two-Face to disrupt the contract he had with her father to assassinate Commissioner James Gordon. A homemade costume using a black turtle-neck jumper, black jeans and belt. She tied her hair back and painted the top half of her face (cheek bones and nose on up) with black paint. Cassandra donned this costume during the No Man’s Land event in 1999 before she even became Batgirl, drawn by Damion Scott. Batgirl Suit (Legends of the Dark Knight #120) Cassandra’s first appearance in the suit was drawn by Mike Deodato, in the last page of this issue. Unfortunately, possibly due to their depiction in this issue possessing the same proportions, it is rather difficult to discern the difference between Cass’ suit and Helena’s suit, which also made its final appearance in this issue. The main differences between Cassandra and Helena when in their respected Batgirl suits, aside from a six inch height difference and bust size (pay attention people, Cass’ girls are smaller than Helena’s), the bat symbol on their chests are different (with Helena’s closer to Bruce’s full bat emblem and Cass’ is closer to Barbara Gordon’s “little bat” emblem with an extended tail) and their utility belt pouches are designed differently. Batgirl Suit (Azrael Agent of the Bat #57) Roger Robinson’s detailing of Cassandra’s lips pressing through the mask and the completely black eye lenses give her the impression of a “mousey” shadow. Couple this with her silence (the lips and brow expressing her emotions) and this might have been one of my top five renditions, however the colourists saw to it that the centre or Cass’ bat symbol was sometimes gold and sometimes black, seemingly depending on whether light was hitting it or not (a trait that I’ll hereby refer to as the “Reflective Gold Filling”). Batgirl Suit (Batman #569) Unlike the previous rendition, Cassandra’s lips are not as defined under the mask as drawn by Sergio Cariello. Her boots are also more similar to women designer boots, with a toe point and heel. I do like the way she looks unmasked in this issue, however. Very expressive and energetic (again, possibly due to needing to communicate without using words), one of my favourite unmasked Cass renditions. This is also one of the first action-packed depictions of Cassandra. As is common in all hero iterations, the chest symbol is different; still a bat but it is drawn differently depending on the artist. This event is so common that it is almost too miniscule to mention anymore. Just look at various Batman images and count how many times the bat symbol changes depending on the artist. Batgirl Suit (Robin #73) This rendition, by N. Steven Harris, follows the “shadow bat” style however I can’t but get the impression that it was half arsed. Cassandra has the body proportions of an adult and the belt pouches are way too small to be practical. Perhaps it’s just me. Again the colourist made her emblem filled with gold, instead of hollow, despite the outline being there. No separate gloves in this one, the hands fully covered by material extended from the suit. The heeled boots also make a return. Not bad though; torn and ripped cape and taloned hands are a nice touch. Batgirl Suit (Batman Secret Files & Origins No Man’s Land #1) Cassandra drawn in the Bruce Timm cartoon universe style. Drawn by Craig Rousseau, I can’t really say much about it aside from giving props for the sheer novelty of the concept. The entire story was inspired by an art image that was meant to be included in the No Man’s Land Art Gallery. The image depicted all of the major players in No Man’s Land drawn in the Bruce Timm style. Batgirl Suit (Batman: Outlaws) Drawn by Willie Schubert, this rendition is rather peculiar; with high-heeled boots that go up to the thighs and a black capsule utility belt. The rendition is also very inconsistent, with the boots sometimes being heeled and sometimes not, same with the belt; with it sometimes being there and sometimes not. In the third issue the belt is yellow. An odd attempt, one would think that these mistakes wouldn’t happen in a professional presentation but here they are… Batgirl Suit (Ghost/Batgirl: The Resurrection Engine) Not a big fan of the way “civilian” Cass is drawn in this series, however, Cass’ costume look here is one of the more scary/disturbing renditions; which is good considering that is how the costume is meant to realistically portray (Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, after all). Facial detail in the mask is all but invisible, only allowing for shadows that follow the shape and hollow of her cheek bones and brow. I’m not sure how her shoulder horns work here(whether they are part of the cape or shoulder armour) but they are sometimes present and sometimes not, depending on cape position. Again, not a big fan on how her real face is drawn but the costume is nicely worked for “Little Miss Dark-and-Spooky-in-the-corner”. Training Suit (Batgirl #1) Our first depiction of little Cass, drawn by Damion Scott, has her wearing a full-body black body suit like her father. Her hair is also long. Batgirl Suit (Batgirl #1) The rendition of her outfit, as shown by her daddy and mommy creators (Damion Scott and Kelley Puckett), set the traditional elements of large yellow utility pouches, shoulder horns, small but athletic muscle tone. Her cowl generally followed the same rules of Spiderman’s in terms of displaying expressions. I guess I’ll call this rendition the “Friendly Neighbourhood Batgirl” style. Not sure what the heck happened on page 7 though. Looks like she got mummified. Batgirl Suit (Young Justice #20 -21) Her only appearance in the Young Justice series was rather uniquely done. In #20 she only appeared as a cut-out shape, where the reader would paste an equivalent image cut out from #21. The suit is full-bodied; no separate boots or gloves. Her eye lenses follow the “Friendly Neighbourhood Batgirl” style. Keeping with the typical Young Justice style the rendition has Cass’ typical spooky “Bat” look but toned down enough to look more cool than disturbing. Vigilante Costume (Batgirl #7) After Batman took away the role of Batgirl from Cassandra due to her having lost her martial abilities, she continued her vigilante outings donning a new homemade outfit. Again she used face paint, this time wearing grey face paint over her entire face with a black domino mask with white lenses. All black jumper, pants, boots and gloves are the clothing of choice with a utility belt slung over her shoulder. Her hair is also spiked, tied back Batgirl Suit (Batgirl #11) Only appearing near the end of the issue, Cassandra’s bat ears are huge in this rendition by Coy Turnbull and Damion Scott. Batgirl Suit (Batgirl #12) Part of a cross-series event titled “Officer Down”; where Commissioner James Gordon was shot in the back, Cassandra appears in this issue trying to track down Catwoman (Selina Kyle). Pencilled by Dale Eaglesham, in this rendition the Damion Scott style is a heavy influence, particularly seen in the figure form and the “Friendly Neighbourhood Batgirl” style of eye lenses. Her cloak is the most notable design attribute that sets it apart from the rest; designed as a heavy material-like cloth that she frequently wraps around herself like a robe. Batgirl Suit (Robin #86) A unique rendition of the suit appears in this “Officer Down” tie-in issue thanks to the Pander Brothers. Her suit possesses erratic cross-stitching similar to some of Catwoman’s suit renditions; perhaps most famously shown in the 1992 Batman Returns movie in Selina Kyle’s (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) home-made suit. Another note is the return of the “Reflective Gold Filling” style bat emblem, however this time the emblem remains hollow, with only the gold outline appearing and disappearing randomly. The belt is also not featured in this rendition. Page 1,2,3,4 Category:Essays